1 00:00:00,060 --> 00:00:03,540 (Brett Johnson) I'm Brett William Johnson, the command sergeant major for the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 2 00:00:03,540 --> 00:00:08,790 I've been here for 19 years. So, probably the most significant time I've had in an 3 00:00:08,790 --> 00:00:13,920 interaction with one of our snipers, that would be worthy enough to tell the story, 4 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,650 there's been a bunch, but this one's probably the most significant. It 5 00:00:16,650 --> 00:00:21,600 was 2006, I was a staff sergeant in the 1st Ranger Battalion, and we were going 6 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,800 after a high-value target in eastern Iraq. As we showed up to the 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,900 target, we came in and started walking in, and one of the other squad 8 00:00:30,900 --> 00:00:34,770 leaders said, "Hey I can see the guys., They're all walking around, and they have 9 00:00:34,770 --> 00:00:40,920 guns." So as we moved up to the target, They - one of the sentries - identified the 10 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,520 other squad leader on the target on the eastern side of the objective and 11 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:51,270 started to engage at us. As our assault force started to engage the enemy, we 12 00:00:51,270 --> 00:00:58,199 rapidly moved up my squad, and right as we were about to break the corner 13 00:00:58,199 --> 00:01:03,510 of the building, a guy unbeknownst to us was literally coming around the corner with 14 00:01:03,510 --> 00:01:08,310 an AK-47, would have taken out me, both of my team leaders at 15 00:01:08,310 --> 00:01:13,770 the time. Our sniper was postured in a perfect position. Didn't have enough 16 00:01:13,770 --> 00:01:16,290 time to tell us it was happening, 'cause it, you know, things happen so fast 17 00:01:16,290 --> 00:01:22,650 in a firefight. As we broke the corner, he took the most perfect well-aimed 18 00:01:22,650 --> 00:01:28,259 shot and put him down, as we broke the corner as we can continue to and go 19 00:01:28,259 --> 00:01:34,049 and engage the rest of the to the guys. Didn't realize it was him at the 20 00:01:34,049 --> 00:01:38,640 time, thought it was somebody else next to us that got him. The good part is 21 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,479 that the team did a phenomenal job as we flowed through and eliminated the rest 22 00:01:42,479 --> 00:01:46,470 of the threat and actually ended up getting the - a pretty big-time guy in 23 00:01:46,470 --> 00:01:50,939 eastern Iraq. As we as we finished up the objective it was it was pretty quick 24 00:01:50,939 --> 00:01:55,259 probably from time when we hit on the ground till it was all over, it 25 00:01:55,259 --> 00:01:59,549 was probably a 10-minute segment, I mean it was, it was that quick, but from 26 00:01:59,549 --> 00:02:03,840 our snipers - you know as we as we plan the target as he was sitting out and 27 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,810 said, "Hey, I think this is gonna be the best position for me to observe the 28 00:02:06,810 --> 00:02:09,069 target and report anything that's going on or any movement." 29 00:02:09,069 --> 00:02:13,180 He couldn't see the movement of the guys as we were moving up just from where he 30 00:02:13,180 --> 00:02:18,069 was at on that side from where the guys came out of the building, but as soon as 31 00:02:18,069 --> 00:02:22,360 that guy made a decision to break the corner where we were moving up, it was 32 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,530 probably literally five feet from us when he took the shot and made the 33 00:02:26,530 --> 00:02:31,090 engagement on that guy. Had he not been there, you know, that guy would definitely 34 00:02:31,090 --> 00:02:35,860 would've had the drop on us and definitely, you know, shot one of us. We 35 00:02:35,860 --> 00:02:42,129 were actually in a - in a wedge moving up as the other assault team on the 36 00:02:42,129 --> 00:02:46,450 eastern side was in a wedge moving up, so we were coming in an L-shape to 37 00:02:46,450 --> 00:02:52,150 isolate the objective, so we Could - and then, you know, flow in. It just 38 00:02:52,150 --> 00:02:55,989 so happened that the enemy came out and started moving around with guns, 'cause the 39 00:02:55,989 --> 00:03:00,250 sun was, you know, took us so long to get there, the sun was coming up. 40 00:03:00,250 --> 00:03:03,430 So it was in that, you know, period of darkness where he, you kind of still 41 00:03:03,430 --> 00:03:05,799 gotta wear your nods, but, you know, I could probably take him off and see as 42 00:03:05,799 --> 00:03:11,560 well, and so we had the advantage for Sure. Still, and as we were moving up in 43 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,889 the wedge and we were closing down our wedge to break that corner to go into 44 00:03:14,889 --> 00:03:18,130 The - to buttonhook around the house and go into the courtyard, 45 00:03:18,130 --> 00:03:23,500 that's when the shot broke out. It was silent so, you know, you knew you 46 00:03:23,500 --> 00:03:27,519 took a shot, but you didn't know where until we turned the corner and you saw 47 00:03:27,519 --> 00:03:31,840 the guy laying there with the AK and then then you figure out that, 48 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:36,579 "Hey, that was that was our sniper that took that shot." You know, the training 49 00:03:36,579 --> 00:03:43,090 that they do up until that point allows them to take a critical shot at 50 00:03:43,090 --> 00:03:46,750 within the feet of us as we broke that corner and the trust that we had 51 00:03:46,750 --> 00:03:51,430 between our sniper was pretty incredible for him to take that shot, you know, and an 52 00:03:51,430 --> 00:03:56,349 error, a miss of one foot, you know, to the right; we could have could have hit one 53 00:03:56,349 --> 00:04:00,370 of us and and he, you know, he did a phenomenal job that day. The year was 54 00:04:00,370 --> 00:04:05,730 2006 when all this went happened, and things were pretty dynamic in Iraq in 55 00:04:05,730 --> 00:04:16,570 2006, seven, eight, nine, ten. Things like that happened on a nightly basis 56 00:04:16,570 --> 00:04:21,700 over there. You tell them thanks, give them a little fist bump and hey, but you 57 00:04:21,700 --> 00:04:24,400 gotta concentrate on the next target, you know, that was 58 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,120 last night, you know, then next nights a new target, so you got to get back 59 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:32,650 out there and get your game face on cause every night it's different. I don't know 60 00:04:32,650 --> 00:04:35,380 that if I have a tally in my head of how many times they've saved my life but 61 00:04:35,380 --> 00:04:40,570 it's- I'm sure my wife is pretty thankful for them as well. So, the significance of 62 00:04:40,570 --> 00:04:44,200 a sniper at the command perspective is just another tool in our kit bag, right. 63 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,889 We have multiple assets within our organization, and you know, when a sniper 64 00:04:47,889 --> 00:04:52,630 is used properly, you can get some phenomenal information about the 65 00:04:52,630 --> 00:04:56,260 target that you're looking at and how they they support a maneuver element 66 00:04:56,260 --> 00:05:01,360 as they're moving up and then take those critical shots within feet, like I 67 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:07,780 just explained, that'll save lives. So that their critical role 68 00:05:07,780 --> 00:05:12,130 in the battlefield to observe and report and then take the most critical shot 69 00:05:12,130 --> 00:05:19,860 when needed is a skill that can't perish, right, and it goes back to 70 00:05:19,860 --> 00:05:26,410 rehearsals, and planning, and continue to refine their skills. Their some of the 71 00:05:26,410 --> 00:05:30,640 most patient people I've ever met in my life. I'm not a very patient person, so I 72 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:37,539 could have never been a very good sniper, but their ability to to see the 73 00:05:37,539 --> 00:05:40,990 battlefield, to see what's next, to observe report and then to take that 74 00:05:40,990 --> 00:05:44,979 critical shot, it's pretty impressive, and I would encourage anybody that 75 00:05:44,979 --> 00:05:49,060 has those characteristics and traits and thinks they can do that to come and 76 00:05:49,060 --> 00:05:55,800 join the U.S. Army, particularly the Ranger regiment, and become a sniper.